Mayan apocalypse: 100 places to see before the end of the world - part three

The Galápagos is probably the most famous wildlife-watching destination in the
world. Within minutes – sometimes seconds – of landing on this dot in the
middle of the Pacific Ocean, you can expert to find yourself face-to-face
with more curious animals than anywhere else on Earth.

Roughly 620 miles off the coast of Ecuador, and slap-bang on the equator,
Darwin’s “Enchanted Isles” consist of a cluster of 13 “proper” volcanic
islands (larger than four square miles) plus six smaller islands and more
than 100 islets. Every one has its own unique atmosphere, distinctive
landscape and inimitable wildlife.

You can see everything from penguins living in the tropics and boobies with
bright blue feet to tool-using woodpecker finches and male frigatebirds
turning their wrinkled throat sacs into extraordinary, fully inflated red
balloons. One day you could be watching time-worn giant tortoises in the
misty highlands, and the next you could be snorkelling with playful sea
lions in crystal-clear water. You could be sunbathing on black lava rocks
next to prehistoric-looking marine iguanas, or sitting with waved
albatrosses as they perform their bill-circling, swaggering courtship
displays.

All this said, 170,000 tourists visited the Galápagos last year so, not
surprisingly, it’s beginning to feel a little crowded.